Shakespeare: A Realist

I do agree with the previous posts, but I wanted to note that although Shakespeare may have intended this to be a parody I do believe that there is some merit in this poem. Moreover, it is possible that Shakespeare is admitting to the fact that the woman he is in love with is anything but perfect and that he is accepting that fact. In my opinion, when poets attempt to compare features of their love with the most idealistic items then they are merely assimilating and conforming to previous love poems--and simultaneously bastardizing the entire concept. On the contrary this sonnet in my opinion has a lot more value that the reader can actually relate to. In general love poems seem to remove the audience considering not too many people date women with rosy cheeks and breath like perfume. The overarching tone and mood in this sonnet is one of realism; Shakespeare is perfectly content with having this imperfect woman. Like Steve said this might be slightly hypocritical, but maybe we should cut Shakespeare some slack--maybe he has finally learned his lesson about writing love sonnets.